


Dreaming

by fallengodtier



Category: She-Ra and the Princesses of Power (2018)
Genre: F/F, catradora, catradoraweek2019
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-07-08
Updated: 2019-07-08
Packaged: 2020-06-24 09:35:17
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,912
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19721014
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/fallengodtier/pseuds/fallengodtier
Summary: Catra dreams she's in the Whispering Woods. This one-shot takes place between seasons two and three of She-Ra and the Princesses of Power.





	Dreaming

**Author's Note:**

> I wrote this for Catradora Week's Day One prompt, nightmares/dreams. I haven't written any fan fiction in a few years, and I hope to get back into it. Thank you for reading! :)

Catra found herself in the Whispering Woods.

Not the Whispering Woods that seemed on the verge of death after Entrapta hacked the Black Garnet, but the vibrant, full forest it had been before and recently returned to somehow. Probably because of that flower princess.

Catra snorted, pushing aside a tree branch as she started to make her way through the forest.

So what the Whispering Woods grew back? Sure, she had taken advantage of the Rebellion’s lack of cover when the woods were weakened, but she didn’t need it. She was bringing the Horde closer than ever before to ending the Rebellion, and she was going to end it. She would be the one to bring the Rebellion to its knees.

A twig snapped in half under Catra’s feet.

How did she get here anyways? What was she doing in the Whispering Woods? Maybe she was on a recon mission to locate some potential First Ones tech. That First Ones temple was here.

And this was where Adora had found that sword. She-Ra’s. The one that changed everything.

What would her life be like if Adora hadn’t gone back for the sword, or hadn’t even found it when they first snuck into the Whispering Woods? Catra wouldn’t be second-in-command, probably not a force captain.

But she and Adora would still have each other, and nothing bad would have happened then. That was what they promised each other. But now -- now --

“ _Mrow._ ”

Catra stopped, trying to figure out what direction the meow had come from. Maybe it wasn’t a meow, but some other noise made by one of the weird creatures inhabiting the woods?

No, it was definitely a meow. Which meant whatever or whoever made the noise was intelligent enough to make the connection between Catra and cats. Catra felt a sudden swoop of uneasiness in her belly, but she shoved it down.

“Okay,” she called out, “who’s there?”

Whoever/whatever already knew she heard them. If they simply came out to face her, she could just get it over with and get back to...whatever she was doing.

Tree leaves rustled slightly as a breeze blew through the woods.

“Fine, be like that.”

Catra let out a huff and continued walking, now staying alert for the sound of a twig snapping, a rustling of a bush -- any sound that would give away the position of her company.

“ _Mrow._ ”

This had to be a person, because the meow was followed by snickering this time.

“Is that you, Sparkles? Because this is a sorry excuse for a second attempt at kidnapping.”

But it wasn’t, Catra knew that, the snickering sounded so familiar, almost like --

“ _Mrrahhh!_ ”

Adora pounced from the left, a blur of red, brown, and gold as Catra spun around. Catra let out an oof as Adora pinned her down, Adora’s hands on Catra’s shoulders, Adora straddling Catra’s waist.

Catra’s eyes met Adora’s. There was a warmth in Adora’s eyes that Catra hadn’t seen in a long time. Not whenever Adora looked at her nowadays.

“You should see the look on your face!” Adora laughed. “Surprised you’re not the only one who can pounce?”

Adora pulled herself upright, still straddling Catra but removing her hands from Catra’s shoulders, placing them on her hips instead.

“But who’s ‘Sparkles?’” She raised one of her eyebrows. “Somebody I should be worried about?”

Catra snorted.

“Don’t play dumb, princess. It’s your precious _Glimmer_.”

Adora slightly cocked her head to the side, frowning.

“My precious what? And since when have you called me ‘princess?’”

Catra opened her mouth, then closed it. Was Adora messing with her? Why?

Adora rolled off Catra, standing up. She brushed her knees before extending a hand to Catra.

“Anyway, we need to find that skiff and get back to the Fright Zone before Shadow Weaver realizes we’re gone.”

Shadow Weaver --

Catra leapt to her feet.

“Shadow Weaver! I gotta find her before Hordak finds out she’s gone! If he does, he’ll -- he’ll --”

She didn’t want to know. Panic threatened to take over as it clawed up her throat.

No, she wouldn’t have to know, because she would find Shadow Weaver before Hordak had the chance to find out, had the chance to even suspect anything. Was that why she was in the Whispering Woods? It had to be. What else would she be doing? But why would Shadow Weaver go here?

Adora stood there, her hand still extended, concern mixed with her confusion now.

“What are you talking about? Shadow Weaver’s back at the Fright Zone.”

Adora took a step closer to Catra.

“Don’t tell me you hit your head when we crashed, and that’s why you’ve been wandering around instead of looking for me.” Adora’s tone was teasing, but there was an unmistakable undercurrent of concern to it that she couldn’t hide.

Catra let out a mix of a groan and a snarl, shoving Adora into the nearest tree. Adora nearly tripped over her own feet as Catra shoved her, the former’s eyes widening.

“I don’t have time for you to be messing with me like this!”

“Catra, I really don’t know what you’re talking about. Shadow Weaver is back in the Fright Zone, with everybody else. Are you okay?”

Catra stared at Adora. Was... was Adora _not_ messing with her? Did she really not remember anything since they ran off on that skiff forever ago?

Maybe...maybe this was some sort of simulation, like back when she followed Adora into that First Ones temple. Yeah...maybe she thought she saw Shadow Weaver go into the temple, and she had followed her in, and gotten into one of those simulations again…It might be easier to play along with “Adora” for now, and find a way out of the simulation together.

Catra let go of Adora, turning away from her to face the same direction she had been going in before Adora pounced on her.

“I’m okay, let’s -- let’s just find that skiff and get out of here.” Catra started walking, and Adora followed.

“You sure you’re okay? I can make something up when I take you to medbay, like that you feel off a ledge you were perched on.”

Catra shook her head.

“I’m fine,” she looked over her shoulder at Adora, smirking slightly, “And I wouldn’t want you to embarrass me with a lame story like that.”

Adora quickened her pace to catch up to Catra, then fell into step beside her as the pair pushed vines out of their path, trampling over underbrush.

“Hey, no one except Dr. Rhondia would have to know about it,” Adora said. “She’s good at keeping secrets. Remember that time you had to take me to medbay after I cut my hand on a shard of glass when we were looking through the rubble stash?”

“Yeah, you could tell she knew we had been doing something that wasn’t Horde protocol, but she kept her mouth shut.”

The pair walked in silence for a moment.

“ _Or_ you could say that I got hit by some unknown princess magic, after they grabbed you while you were trying to find some stones on the edge of the Fright Zone, and _I_ had to come to your rescue before it was too late,” Catra said, smirking as she watched Adora out of the corner of her eye.

Laughing, Adora gave her a playful shove.

“Like Dr. Rhondia would believe that!”

“In fact,” Catra continued, her smirk getting bigger, “I fought off five princesses at once while _you_ , force captain, were tied up on the ground. They came at me relentlessly after I took one of them out in a surprise attack but in the end they were no match for my quick reflexes. The one princess hit me with some sparkling powder as a last ditch attempt to defeat me, which is why you are taking me, your heroine, _your knight in shining armor_ , to the medbay to ensure my well-being.”

Adora laughed. “And how exaggerated is this story going to be by the time we get to the medbay?”

“Oh, I’ll figure out a way to work defeating the Rebellion’s dragon into it long before then.”

They both laughed, and it felt like before -- before the sword, before She-Ra, before Glimmer and Bow, before Adora had broken their promise -- which made Catra _ache_.

Before wasn’t perfect, far from it -- but Catra had Adora, and Adora had Catra. Catra didn’t want to admit it -- especially not to Adora, let alone herself -- but she wanted Adora back. She wanted to tease Adora and Adora to tease her back without threats of annihilation worming their way into the pair’s banter. She wanted Adora to meow at her again outside of some First Ones simulation, to meow at her like she did when they were little and she would ask Catra what that translated to -- as if it translated to anything.

“Hey, is that our skiff?” Adora pulled Catra out of her train of thought.

Catra squinted, seeing silver metal peeking through the underbrush not too far ahead of them.

“I think so,” Catra turned to Adora, flashing a grin. “Race you there!”

With that, Catra bounded on ahead, not paying attention to the leaves and twigs that snagged onto her pants.

“Hey, that’s not fair!” Adora shriek-laughed, trying to catch up.

“Too bad!” Catra called back, pushing the last branch between her and the skiff out of the way with enough force to snap it. When she fully took in the skiff, no longer shielded from underbrush and trees, her playful mood left her.

It sure looked like a standard Fright Zone skiff turned on its side, but moss had started to grow on the parts closest to the ground, and rust was eating away at the pipes along the skiff’s underbelly. Simulation or not, they hadn’t been in the Whispering Woods that long…..right? Catra heard a soft whine from the other side of the overturned skiff.

Adora bumped into Catra’s back, forcing Catra to stumble forward and place a hand on the skiff.

“Catra, what’s --”

“Shh,” Catra whispered, “there’s something on the other side of the skiff.”

Catra started to tiptoe around the skiff, Adora making just as little noise behind her. Catra stopped just before fully coming around to the skiff’s other side. She peered over the edge.

“Come look,” she whispered to Adora, motioning for Adora to stand beside her. Adora tiptoed to Catra’s side, following Catra’s gaze.

A small, furry purple creature and three even smaller versions of it had nestled into the corner of the skiff. They laid curled up together on top of a pile of twigs and leaves.

“A family made a home of our skiff,” Catra whispered.

Adora nodded.

“How do we move forward?” she whispered back. The question seemed odd and not very Adora-like to Catra.

“How do we--?”

A jolt woke Catra up. Opening her eyes, she found herself half-curled up on a cold floor. There was nothing else in the room -- if you could call it that -- besides herself. So the Whispering Woods had been a dream.

The last thing she remembered was being swallowed by darkness, unable to breathe after Hordak found out about Shadow Weaver.

_That’s right,_ she thought. _Hordak found out about Shadow Weaver. I guess I’m being transported to whatever punishment Hordak sees fit._

She curled in on herself fully, shivering a bit.

“How do we move forward, huh,” she whispered to herself.


End file.
